Reviews of Bear Lake

Rating:

4

6

8

Clean Restrooms:

Clean Showers:

Apr 2014 -
$20.00

This mostly lakeside campground is operated by Blackwater River State Forest, part of the Florida Forest Service. It is located about three miles east of Munson, where SR 4 intersects CR 191,or eight miles west of Baker. Although the scenery of the area is nice, the campground attempts to cram a quart into a cup with regard to RV spaces. Asphalt roads had speed bumps greet you, and one bump is so large that our truck scraped (highly unusual). Most of the campground (32 sites) is on a paved loop with W&E (including 50 amp service), while 8 sites are near the boat ramp and have water spigots available, exclusively for tenters. In the W&E sites, many of the hookups are on the wrong side of the camper, so every time we exited the RV, there was the electric box and water spigot to greet us. The hookups were fine, but the location was poorly designed. Dump station was a bit leafy and muddy, but worked fine. Sites are crammed together, and privacy is hard to come by. Sites were level to slightly sloping back. Leveling was easy with the hitch, no blocks needed under the tires. Some sites were dirt, some were asphalt, some were ground up asphalt that had reconstituted itself, complete with ground up highway reflector buttons. You pay at an unmanned pay kiosk, that was easy, and rules were posted. But, no one enforces rules. Dogs were sometimes loose, or put on 20 foot leashes, allowing them to come way over into our campsite, where we kept our dogs on a six foot leash. No one but us picked up dog poo. Cars, cars, everywhere, no limits to cars or boat trailers at the sites. Combined with the small site space between RV's, and the place looked more like a parking lot. Yet, there was an overflow lot that was void of cars. People were parking in part of our campsite and never thought a thing of it. Camp host drove through on the motor cart, but never stopped, and enforced nothing. You could tell the host had been there a while given the amount of "stuff" around that camper. Bicycle trail was in terrible condition, actually impassable and trail blaze trees had been harvested. Hiking trail system was nice, pretty. Prohibitions separating hikers from bicycles were posted, but no one enforced. Never saw a county law enforcement vehicle or state forest personnel the entire weekend. DTV coverage on the batwing included strong CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and some indie signals. CSpire/Sprint coverage was 0 bars/0 data. No swimming in this lake, but it is allowed at neighboring Krul Lake Recreation Area two miles west. Most campers here are interested in fishing and kayaking in the lake. Only trolling motors allowed. The fish were biting. Lots of bear warnings, but there were no bears here, and you could tell it was a non-issue because the dumpsters had no bear-proof latching. People were quite friendly. Based upon the many sites we have visited around the U.S. and Canada, this CG rates just barely average, primarily because of the small sites and tremendous numbers of vehicles and boat trailers. We will camp in Blackwater River State Forest again, but will opt for other campgrounds, not Bear Lake. - The Happy Traveler

Apr 2013 -
$20.00

This is a first-come-first-serve campground, with paved roads to the campground sites. Most of sites are pitched making it difficult to level out our RV. The bath house could use renovation. There is no site privacy; however, there is great area for an activity such as a family reunion that includes a kitchen and huge screened in gazebo that can be reserved for an event. There are a number of well marked trails, a nice boat ramp, and a pier for fishing. They even have off-road bicycle trails and a beautiful suspension bridge. We have returned to this campground several times, but have learned to arrive early and to be very selective in our site. - Pamelalena

Oct 2008 -
$15.00

This place was great! The showers in the restroom were huge and clean. You don't feel closed in. The sites were shady but the ones on the water were the best. I really never saw the camp host but all was good. You can have fires, they provide the pit. The sites were paved in the pull-throughs and gravel in the rest. I love the dock and there was tons of room for the kids to ride there bikes. We will definitely go back! - meghann

Reviews of Blackwater River State Forest - Coldwater

Rating:

6

Clean Restrooms:

Clean Showers:

Apr 2014 -
$20.00

This Blackwater River State Forest campground specializes in being a campground for the equestrian community. It is a combination campground and horse stable facility. It is accessed via paved and unpaved roads. The campground is level and mostly sunny and grassy with unpaved sites. Reservations are required for campsites and horse stalls (850-957-6161). Very woodsy, and miles of equestrian trails. Also nearby is the put-in site for canoeing on the upper/middle reaches of Big Coldwater Creek, so this is a great base camp for paddling the river, if you can find a way to bring your kayak or canoe back upstream. Nearest store and fuel is about 8 miles away, some come prepared. - The Happy Traveler

Reviews of Krul Lake State Recreation Area

Rating:

9

7

4

Clean Restrooms:

Clean Showers:

Nov 2014 -
$20.00

This is a first come, first served park. Many sites were available when we camped in November. Beautiful, clean, quiet with spacious, mostly level sites. Showers/rest rooms adequate and clean. Park host friendly and gracious. Relaxing views of the lake from the campsite. Remote area, no verizon service. I gave it a 9 because of no pets rule, otherwise would have rated 10. - petdoc

Apr 2014 -
$20.00

Operated by Blackwater River State Forest, this campground focuses upon the freshwater swimming and wading opportunities available at Krul (often called "Munson") Lake. Campsites are generally level in a beautiful pine forest setting, well separated in most cases, and are paved or clay mixed with gravel in a grassy environment. Bathhouses were quite clean. Campsites are mostly further apart, compared to nearby Bear Lake CG, where everything is crowded and not private. Roads paved throughout. There are two loops within the campground. Access is one mile east of Munson at the junction of SR 4 and CR 191. A staffed pay booth greets you to collect day use or overnight fees. The swimming area is clean and life-guarded. Algal mats are around, but not in the swim area due to the amount of swimming. A large dock allows access completely across an arm of the lake. Interestingly, there is a long boardwalk trail with a replica grist mill (not in operation) and a beautiful suspension bridge over Sweetwater Creek (beautiful sandy bottomed river). There is also a replica sawmill, again not in operation at the time of our visit. No fishing at this lake. CSpire/Sprint phone service was 0 bars/0 data. DTV coverage included CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and some indies. A small store is a mile away (very limited supplies), but there is no gasoline for about 10 miles in any direction. This is our campground of choice for Blackwater River State Forest, and we will come here again. - The Happy Traveler

Jul 2009 -
$15.00

We have camped at Krul for 20 years and we were very disappointed with the condition of the campground. I spent the better part of a day picking up cigarette butts and assorted trash: not only from our site but the park in general. A nearby site partied until after midnight. We were only a few sites from the host! - DrummersMom